"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Dominican hookers, to be specific. This is what we’re hearing about the sex scandal involving a “powerful senator” in a headline being touted by Drudge, with a story by the Daily Caller promised late tonight.

UPDATE: Shortly after the Drudge Report headline went up, my associate Ali Akbar got a tip that the story involved Sen. Menendez of New Jersey and at least one prostitute with whom he trysted on a taxpayer-funded trip to the Dominican Republic. Within one hour, Akbar had confirmed this with other sources, and we understand that numerous reporters in D.C. have heard similar reports.

UPDATE II: Some online sources are saying underaged Dominican hookers, but Ali’s sources cannot confirm the age of the alleged partner.

Two women from the Dominican Republic told The Daily Caller that Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez paid them for sex earlier this year.
In interviews, the two women said they met Menendez around Easter at Casa de Campo, an expensive 7,000 acre resort in the Dominican Republic. They claimed Menendez agreed to pay them $500 for sex acts, but in the end they each received only $100.The women spoke through a translator in the company of their attorney, Melanio Figueroa. Both asked that their identities remain obscured for fear of reprisals in the Dominican Republic. . . .
Asked about the allegations, Menendez spokeswoman Tricia Enright refused to answer any questions on the subject. “We’re not going to respond to a completely false accusation,” she wrote by email.It is known that Sen. Menendez has been a regular visitor to the Dominican Republic. On at least one occasion, according to a news account, Menendez has been a guest at the Casa de Campo home of a friend and campaign donor named Salomon Melgen, an ophthalmologist and owner of an eye clinic in Florida.

Ain’t happening. Menendez has probably got Tucker Carlson by the short hairs right about now. If it was going to break, it would have by now. Carlson’s got nothing but the word of a hooker, and that isn’t gonna fly.

http://profiles.google.com/dianna.deeley Dianna Deeley

Oh, man. It’s curious, but it never occurred to me that a hooker was less reliable than a United States Senator. Especially since it’s a Democrat.

I should be sad, but instead, I’m giggling.

http://profiles.google.com/dianna.deeley Dianna Deeley

Why not? I’d believe an aggrieved hooker, not paid for her services, before I’d believe a member of either house of congress!

http://twitter.com/DarylHerbert Daryl Herbert

Unless they were underage, I don’t think the scandal is meaningful. At 17, I don’t think it moves enough points to tip to the Republican. Even at 16, I don’t think it swings the election. If they were 15 or under, the Republican wins. That’s the bottom line. Let’s see what Tucker Carlson can prove.

JeffS

Think “Secret Service”.

JeffS

The legacy of Ted Kennedy lives on.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=722584229 Karl Bock

So would I. But that’s not the point. The point is that if you’re going to set out to kill the king, you damn well better kill the king.

Lets see if we can place Menendez with underage hookers in Rangel’s DR condo while he was talking on a cell to Obama in a Chicago bathhouse..

http://twitter.com/DANEgerus DANEgerus

I’m offended Sen. Menende(D-La Raza) was outsourcing blow jobs. Can’t he find any nice underage latina girls here at home to exploit? I hear Planned Parenthood can hook you up…

crosspatch

Tease says “powerful” Senator … but then again, New Jersey is a major state and Menendez is a major party hack from the NJ machine.

If the speculation is true about underaged hookers, he’s toast. Age of consent is 18 in Dominican Republic (as opposed to 16 in most states in the US and in most other countries of the world). He might be in some hot water with the DR authorities if that is true.

http://www.facebook.com/nrmccoy Ryan

Is it too late in the game for New Jersey Democrats to pull a Torricelli maneuver?

Another dud bombshell. Hookers were not underage. Hooking is legal in Dominican Republic. The Senator is a single man. Only issue is “he said, she said” over agreed upon price. General rule of thumb, if the story is “teased” then it probably isn’t a story.

Well, Stacy told us years ago that Tucker Carlson was lame. I was willing to give him a second look since he lost the bow ties (seriously, who really wants to be the next George Will or Sen. Paul Simon?) and attracted some good people to the DC. But this is just limp.

Not only is Menendez divorced and prostitution legal in the Dominican, it’s not even clear he cheated them – they got paid by an intermediary who may have pocketed the difference. Since they are of legal age, the only story here is that he let a donor fly him abroad for free, and perhaps arrange the entertainment.

Tucker can’t even prove he stiffed the hookers, and that’s just limp, man.

ReaganiteRepublican

Libs, oh so very passionate! Add to that a self-serving values system w/ no guilt mechanism and you get horndogs like Menendez who will screw anything in sight.

http://wizbangblog.com/ Adjoran

But Menendez wasn’t even on duty at the time, much less supposed to be responsible for the President’s security. It’s nowhere near the same thing.

Taking paid vacation trips on the donor’s dime may be an Ethics violation. The only other Senate charge would be “bringing the Senate into disrepute,” but at this point is that even possible?